Method For Listing Goods For Sale By Telephone

ABSTRACT

A method for using a telephone to list a seller&#39;s good for sale on a website including the steps of receiving good-identifying information from a seller via a telephone and presenting the good for sale on a website. The good-identifying information may be received as a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone. The tones may optionally be used to navigate through a voice prompt system or to provide information about the good, such as the good&#39;s UPC code, ISBN number and/or characteristics of the good. The seller&#39;s provision of a standard identification code allows the marketeer to retrieve information relating to the good from a database and to use such information to present the good for sale. Such information, and/or the characteristics provided by the seller that are specific to the good may optionally be used to set or recommend a price for the good.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.09/427,958, filed Oct. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, and thisapplication claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. ______ titled “Method and Apparatus for Listing Goods for Sale”(Attorney Docket No. P23897 USA), filed Aug. 20, 2001, the disclosuresof both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of sales of goods andparticularly to a method and apparatus for using a telephone to listgoods for sale in electronic commerce applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The industrial age has given rise to a global economy of factoriesengaged in mass production of various goods. An enormous amount ofcommerce is transacted in the buying and selling of such goods. Whilesome such goods lose their value with use, e.g., food products, manysuch goods retain a substantial portion of their value even after use orownership by another. Such goods are referred to herein as “durable”. Aconsiderable amount of commerce is transacted in the buying and sellingof durable goods, particularly used durable goods.

Almost all durable goods are readily identifiable by a standard productidentification code (“ID code”) that uniquely identifies the good,particularly those that are mass produced. In the case of computersoftware, music cassettes or compact discs, videocassettes and digitalvideo discs, the ID code may be a human readable Universal Product Code(“UPC”), a thirteen digit ID code that is widely used to readilyidentify the good. In the case of books, magazines or otherpublications, the ID code may be a human readable ten-digitInternational Standard Book Number (“ISBN”). Other items are morereadily identified by a manufacturer or brand name and a model number,as for baseball cards and consumer electronics, e.g., a Sony® KV-3620television. Some goods may be identifiable by more than one type of IDcode.

U.S. application Ser. No. 09/427,958 (Attorney Docket No. P23305 USA),now U.S. Pat. No. ______, discloses a method and apparatus forfacilitating sales of goods, particularly, used durable goods, byindependent parties. In addition, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/427,958(Attorney Docket No. P23305 USA), now U.S. Pat. No. ______, discloses amethod for pricing such goods for sale which exploits the fungible andreadily identifiable nature of such goods, e.g., by allowing a seller tolist a good for sale by identifying it by a product identification codethat is affixed to the good and/or its packaging.

Such a method is particularly convenient for sellers of a single item oritems which may be easily transported to a computer station so that theseller may read the product identification code from the item and usethe computer to enter the product identification code and list the goodfor sale. The good may be listed for sale by using the computer totransmit the product identification code and related information to themarketplace, e.g., website. Alternatively, the product identificationcode and/or related information may be transmitted to the entitycontrolling the marketplace, referred to herein as the marketeer.However, such a method is inadequate for items stored in locationsremote from a computer and are not easily transported, e.g., for largeitems or items stored in large quantities.

Telephone based interfaces for interacting with websites are known. Forexample, Tellme Networks, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. (URLhttp://www.tellme.com) has developed a voice-based telephone interfaceby which users can use certain voice commands to hear information inselected categories that Tellme Networks, Inc. retrieves from the Weband transforms into audio signals. Audium Corp. (formerlyPhone2Networks, Inc.) of New York, N.Y. has developed interfaces forusing a telephone, rather than a computer, to interact with a websiteand/or the Internet. For example, Audium Corp. offers services includingPhone2Bid to track and bid on an online auction, Phone2Compare (formerlyPhone2Books) to get the real time prices from online vendors, andPhone2Quotes to get custom stock portfolio updates. Informationregarding these services was available on the World Wide Web at the timeof filing of this application at URL http://www.audiumcorp.com/products/

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method for using a telephone to list a seller'sgood for sale on a website. In one embodiment, the method includes thesteps of receiving good-identifying information from a seller via atelephone, retrieving information relating to the good from a database,and using the retrieved information to present the good for sale on awebsite.

In another embodiment, the method includes the steps of receivinggood-identifying information from a seller via a telephone in the formof a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone, andsubsequently presenting the good for sale on a website. The tones mayoptionally be used to navigate through a voice prompt system or toprovide information about the good, such as the good's UPC code, ISBNnumber and/or characteristics of the good, such as the good's “like new”or “poor” condition. The seller's provision of a standard identificationcode allows the marketeer to retrieve information relating to the goodfrom a database and use such information to present the good for sale.Such information, and/or the characteristics provided by the seller thatare specific to the good, may optionally be used to set or recommend asale price for the good.

In accordance with the present invention, a seller may list goods forsale on a website without the need for a computer, making it convenientto list goods for sale from a location where no computer is present,such as a warehouse, garage, attic, or basement, but where a telephoneis accessible or may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention, shown from a seller'sperspective;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the exemplary transaction of FIG. 1, shownfrom a marketeer's perspective;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention, shown from amarketeer's perspective; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a marketeer controller in accordance withthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Websites providing a computer-based, i.e., Web, interface for listinggoods for sale on a website are known. Examples of such websites includea marketplace accessible via the Internet at URL http://www.half.com,maintained by Half.com Inc. of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and anauction-based website accessible via the Internet at URLhttp://www.ebay.com maintained by eBay Inc. of San Jose, Calif.

The present invention provides a method for listing goods for sale on awebsite using a telephone, such as a cordless or cellular telephone.Information that could be communicated between the seller and themarketeer using a Web-based interface is communicated to the marketeervia telephone, which makes it easier for the seller to provide suchinformation from locations in which a computer for accessing theWeb-based interface is not available. For example, a wireless telephonecould be used in an attic of a garage where goods are stored but whereno computer is available for accessing a Web-based interface.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention, shown from a seller'sperspective. As shown in FIG. 1, the seller first transmits via atelephone information identifying the seller to the marketeer, as shownat step 10. The seller may do so affirmatively, for example, by dialinga designated telephone number of the marketeer using a telephone and,when prompted to do so, depressing the keys of the telephone in asequence corresponding to an alphanumeric sequence of a seller'sidentification code, account code and/or personal identification number(PIN), e.g. as assigned by the marketeer and/or as previously selectedby the seller. As used herein, “alphanumeric sequence” refers to asequence including letters, numbers, and/or other symbols. Thedepression of the keys causes the telephone to generate a series oftones, i.e., pulses for a pushbutton rotary phone, or dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) tones for a touch tone telephone, as is wellknown in the art. These tones are recognizable by the marketeer'sequipment, which translates the tones into a seller identification code,which is recognizable by the marketeer to identify the seller or anaccount of the seller or an account to be used by the seller. The selleridentification code may be assigned by the marketeer or selected by theseller. Equipment for recognizing such tones are well known in the art.Alternatively, the seller may transmit such information passively. Forexample, the telephone number of the telephone used by the seller may berecognized using a caller identification technique function, as is wellknown in the art, and that telephone number may be used to identify theseller. This information may be used by the marketeer to identify anaccount and/or other seller information previously provided to themarketeer, e.g., the seller's name, address, etc.

The seller then transmits via the telephone information identifying thegood to be offered for sale, as shown at step 15. In one embodiment, theseller may provide such information by using the telephone's keys tonavigate through a voice prompt system. For example, the seller may beprovided with voice prompts to assist the seller to identify his good,e.g., “Press 1 for books, 2 for music, 3 for videos . . . ”, etc.Voice-prompt telephone systems are well known in the art. In thepreferred embodiment, the seller is instructed to depress the keys of atelephone to provide a standard identification code which uniquelyidentifies the good, such as a UPC code or ISBN number. In anotherembodiment, the seller may speak letters and/or numbers of theidentification code. In such an embodiment, the marketeer may useequipment having speech recognition software for recognizing theseller's speech and translating it into electronic data.

The seller then transmits via the telephone information relating to asale price for the seller's good, as shown at step 20. For example, theseller may use the telephone's keys to select a sale price from a menuof sale prices, e.g., “Press 1 for $5, 2 for $10 . . . ”, etc.Alternatively, the seller may use the telephone's keys to enter a saleprice for the seller's good, e.g., $7 by pressing the 7 key. In thepreferred embodiment, the seller is also provided opportunities, duringthe same and/or subsequent calling sessions, to revoke and/or modify thelisting of the good, e.g., the condition, the selling price, etc. Thus,an independent seller may use a telephone to list the seller's good forsale on the marketeer's website.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the exemplary transaction of FIG. 1, shownfrom a marketeer's perspective. As shown in FIG. 2, the marketeer firstreceives via a telephone information identifying a seller, as shown atstep 30 and described above. Information identifying the seller's goodis then received via the telephone, as shown at step 35 and describedabove. The marketeer then receives information relating to a sale pricefor the seller's good, as shown at step 40. Such information may includea price set by the seller, or information for determining a pricerecommended or set by the marketeer.

As shown in step 45, the marketeer presents the seller's good for saleon a website, e.g. the marketeer's website, using the informationprovided by the seller. Methods and apparatuses for presenting a goodfor sale on a website are well known. For example, the marketeer may addthe information provided by the seller to its database of goods forsale. The good need not be displayed on the website. Rather, if a buyerlater wishes to buy the good and makes an inquiry to the marketeer, themarketeer provides the potential buyer with the information provided bythe seller and/or other information about the seller's good which themarketeer may retrieve from a database of information using theinformation provided by the seller, e.g., cover art, descriptions,title, author, reviews, etc. for a book identified by the seller, orcover art, description, title, artist, song list, etc. for a musiccompact disc identified by the seller.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention, shown from amarketeer's perspective. In this embodiment, the marketeer firstreceives a telephone call from the seller, as shown at step 50. Themarketeer then recognizes a telephone number of the telephone used bythe seller and references a database of seller information to determinean identity of the seller associated with the telephone number, as shownat step 55. In one embodiment, the seller is prompted to enter apersonal identification number (PIN) to verify that the seller haspermission to use the account identified. The marketeer preferablyprovides a message prompting the seller to enter a standard productidentification code identifying the good, such as a UPC or ISBN codeusing the keys of the seller's telephone. The seller then provides suchinformation by depressing an appropriate sequence of keys of thetelephone and the marketeer receives such information, as shown at step60.

The marketeer also provides a message prompting the seller to transmitinformation relating to a characteristic of the good, e.g., thosecharacteristics that are specific to the seller's good and cannot bediscerned from the standard product identification code. For example,the characteristic may be a condition of the good, e.g., that the goodis in new, very good, fair or poor condition. The seller provides suchinformation by depressing appropriate telephone keys, e.g., “Press 1 fora good in “like new” condition, press 2 for a good in “very good”condition . . . . ”, etc. and the marketeer receives such information,as shown at step 65.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the marketeer uses the productidentification code to retrieve price information for a comparable good,e.g., a new good, from a database of price information, as shown at step70. The marketeer then uses the characteristic information provided instep 65 to calculate a recommended price for the seller's good, e.g., aused good in “like new” condition may be priced at a discount of 50%from the price for a comparable new good. In one embodiment, themarketeer may also specify a maximum allowable price using amarketeer-specified method, e.g., no more than half of a manufacturer'ssuggested retail price of a similar, new good. The marketeer thenprovides the recommended sale price to the seller, e.g., by a voicemessage transmitted via the seller's telephone, as shown at step 75. Theseller is presented with options to select the recommended sale price bydepressing a key to confirm, or to alternatively use the telephone'skeys to enter a selected sale price, as shown at step 80. The seller'sidentity, the product identification code for the seller's good, andrelated characteristic and/or price information is stored by themarketeer and the good is added to the marketeer's virtual inventory ofgoods for sale. The inventory is “virtual” in that the marketeer neednot take possession of the good to have it in its inventory. Rather, theidentification, or “listing”, of the seller's good in the marketeer'sdatabase of sale items is sufficient to place the good in themarketeer's virtual inventory. In this manner, a buyer may find the goodwhen browsing the marketeer's website.

Additionally, the product identification code may be used to retrieveinformation relating to the good from a database of information, e.g.,cover art, critics or buyers' reviews of a book, a song list for acompact disk, etc., as shown at step 85 and discussed above. Thisinformation may be displayed on the marketeer's website to present thegood for sale, as shown at step 90, e.g., after a buyer inquires aboutthe good. For example, a buyer may browse the website, search for a bookby author, and once the book is found by the marketeer and selected bythe buyer, the product identification code for the book is checkedagainst the marketeer's virtual inventory, the seller's listing of thebook is found, and the cover art and book review from the database ofrelated information is displayed along with the seller-providedcondition of the good and selected sale price. In this alternate manner,the seller's good is presented for sale on the marketeer's website.

The information transmitted by the seller and received by the marketeermay advantageously be received by automated systems, e.g., computers,i.e., Web servers, in real time. In this manner, the marketeer's websiteis updated and the seller's good is presented for sale, in real time,i.e., almost instantaneously.

In this manner, sellers may list goods for sale on a website without theneed for a computer-based interface to list good for sale. The methodtherefore provides sellers with an opportunity to list goods for saleusing a wireless telephone, e.g., from a location where a computer foraccessing a website is not available, such as a warehouse, basement,attic, garage, or other location.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a marketeer controller 100 in accordancewith the present invention. The marketeer controller includes a centralprocessing unit (“CPU”) 102, random access memory (“RAM”) 104, read onlymemory (“ROM”) 106, and a communications port (“COMM PORT”) 108connected to a network interface device 110 for communicating over acommunications network. The marketeer controller 100 also includes astorage memory including a storage device 112 for storing data includinga first program a first program for receiving via a telephoneinformation relating to a seller's good, a second program for storingelectronic data relating to a seller's good, and a third program forpresenting the seller's good for sale on a website. The marketeercontroller may optionally include a video driver (not shown) and mayoptionally be connected to a video monitor (not shown) and or an inputdevice (not shown), such as a mouse or keyboard.

In one embodiment, the information received by said the program isconfigured to recognize a series of tones generated by depression ofkeys of a telephone. In another embodiment, the marketeer controllerincludes a fourth program for recognizing speech in embodiments in whichthe information received by the first program is a spoken voice signalof the seller. Optionally, the marketeer controller may include a fifthprogram for retrieving information relating to the good from a database.In such an embodiment, the information retrieved by the fifth programmay be used by the third program to present the seller's good for saleon the website.

Having thus described particular embodiments of the invention, variousalterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications and improvements asare made obvious by this disclosure are intended to be part of thisdescription though not expressly stated herein, and are intended to bewithin the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription is by way of example only, and not limiting. The inventionis limited only as defined in the following claims and equivalentsthereto.

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A marketeer controller for receiving from a sellerinformation relating to a seller's good and for listing the good forsale on a website, the marketeer controller comprising: a centralprocessing unit; a memory operatively connected to said centralprocessing unit; a first program stored in said memory and executable bysaid central processing unit for receiving via a telephone informationrelating to a seller's good; a second program stored in said memory andexecutable by said central processing unit for storing electronic datarelating to a seller's good; and a third program stored in said memoryand executable by said central processing unit for presenting theseller's good for sale on a website.
 15. The marketeer controller ofclaim 14, wherein the information received by said first programcomprises a series of tones generated by depression of keys of atelephone.
 16. The marketeer controller of claim 14, further comprisinga fourth program stored in said memory and executable by said centralprocessing unit for recognizing speech, wherein the information receivedby said first program comprises a voice signal of the seller.
 17. Themarketeer controller of claim 14, further comprising a fifth programstored in said memory and executable by said central processing unit forretrieving information relating to the good from a database, theinformation being used by said third program to present the seller'sgood for sale on the website.
 18. A method for listing a seller's goodfor sale on a website, the method comprising: receiving from a sellerinformation identifying a good, the information being transmitted via atelephone; retrieving from a database additional information relating tothe good; and presenting the good for sale on a website using theadditional information retrieved from the database and relating to thegood.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information transmittedfrom the seller comprises a voice signal.
 20. The method of claim 18,wherein the information transmitted from the seller comprises a seriesof tones generated by depression of keys of a touch tone telephone. 21.The marketeer controller of claim 14, wherein the telephone is a touchtone telephone and wherein the series of tones comprises tones generatedby depressing the telephone's keys in a sequence corresponding to analphanumeric sequence of a standard identification code.
 22. Themarketeer controller of claim 21, wherein the standard identificationcode is a universal product code.
 23. The marketeer controller of claim21, wherein the standard identification code is an internationalstandard book number.
 24. The marketeer controller of claim 21, whereinthe information identifying the good identifies a characteristic of thegood in addition to an identity of the good, the characteristic of thegood being incapable of being discerned from the standard identificationcode, the identity of the good being discernable from the standardidentification code.
 25. The method of claim 18, wherein the informationcomprises a universal product code.
 26. The method of claim 18, whereinthe information comprises an international standard book number.
 27. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the information identifying the goodidentifies a characteristic of the good in addition to an identity ofthe good, the characteristic of the good being incapable of beingdiscerned from a standard identification code for the good, the identityof the good being discernable from the standard identification code. 28.The method of claim 27, wherein the standard identification code is auniversal product code.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the standardidentification code is an international standard book number.
 30. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the information comprises a universalproduct code.
 31. The method of claim 19, wherein the informationcomprises an international standard book number.
 32. The method of claim20, wherein the information comprises a universal product code.
 33. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the information comprises an internationalstandard book number.